Mechanistic insights into the beneficial effects of curcumin on insulin resistance: Opportunities and challenges.

The past couple of decades in particular have seen a rapid increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a debilitating metabolic disorder characterised by insulin resistance. The insufficient efficacy of current management strategies for insulin resistance calls for additional therapeutic options. The preponderance of evidence suggests potential beneficial effects of curcumin on insulin resistance, while modern science provides a scientific basis for its potential applications against the disease. Curcumin combats insulin resistance by increasing the levels of circulating irisin and adiponectin, activating PPARγ, suppressing Notch1 signalling, and regulating SREBP target genes, among others. In this review, we bring together the diverse areas pertaining to our current understanding of the potential benefits of curcumin on insulin resistance, associated mechanistic insights, and new therapeutic possibilities.

A cross-sectional comparative study on the assessment of quality of life in psychiatric patients under remission treated with monotherapy and polypharmacy.

CONTEXT: The concept of quality of life (QoL) is becoming an important measure of the impact of psychiatric disorders. It is natural that once patient achieves remission, QoL would improve, but very few studies are conducted under this phase. This study compares the differences in QoL in remitted patients with monotherapy and polypharmacy. AIMS: The aim of this study is to compare the QoL between psychiatric patients in remission treated with monotherapy and polypharmacy. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: It is a questionnaire based cross-sectional comparative study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included outpatients under remission who come for follow-up in psychiatric department. Semi-structured data collection form was used. Remission was confirmed using suitable scales, and QoL was assessed using the World Health Organization quality of life-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) scale. Clinical Global Impression (CGI) and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) were applied to understand the overall improvement and functioning levels. RESULTS: Out of the total 100 patients enrolled in the study, fifty patients were on monotherapy and fifty patients on polypharmacy. The cost of medication was comparatively high for polypharmacy (Rs. 3568.92 [±348.54]) than monotherapy (Rs. 1936.56 [±252.07]). The QoL in physical, psychological, and social domains was significantly high in patients on polypharmacy rather than monotherapy when assessed using the WHOQOL-BREF scale. Ninety-six percent of monotherapy patients had CGI scores between 1.5 and 2.4 while 74% of polypharmacy patients had scores between 1.0 and 1.5. Ninety-six percent of monotherapy patients had <80 GAF scores while 92% of polypharmacy patients had >80. CONCLUSIONS: Patients treated with polypharmacy had better QoL and also clinical improvement and functioning levels were superior.